摘要：Over the past 30 years, the rate of childhood obesity has more than doubled for preschool children aged
2 to 5 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, and it has more than tripled for children 6 to 11 years of
age (Institute of Medicine, 2005). At present, approximately 9 million children over 6 years are considered
obese (Institute of Medicine, 2005). Thus, pediatric obesity is clearly an epidemic in need of preventive
and intervention efforts (Wang & Dietz, 2002). Given the scope of this epidemic, effective public policy
is needed to address the pediatric obesity problem (Dietz, Bland, Gortmaker, Molloy, & Schmid, 2002).
The scale of this problem requires a multifaceted approach across several sectors of society, including the
academic community, government, and the private sector to promote health in our children. This report
reviews current research fi ndings regarding the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity and the effi cacy
of prevention and intervention efforts and makes policy recommendations based on these research conclusions.
The goal of this paper is to bridge the divide between public policy and the scientifi c literature to
assist government offi cials in making informed decisions based on empirical fi ndings.
The fi rst section of this report describes the serious and substantial medical and psychosocial risks
associated with pediatric obesity; the report also details the sociocultural variables that are thought to
contribute to the signifi cant increase in prevalence in this country. Prevention and intervention efforts that
have been developed to improve behaviors¡ªsuch as diet and physical activity¡ªand programs that are
designed to decrease body mass index (BMI) in children who are already overweight are reviewed. Findings
from these studies suggest that prevention efforts that focus on only one venue, such as school, may
not be adequate to signifi cantly impact the obesity of US children. Sociocultural variables are associated
with the increased prevalence of pediatric obesity, which require that government, the private and public
sector, communities, and families must work together to curb this epidemic. Of utmost importance is the
government¡¯s collaboration with the academic community in making sure that any programmatic efforts
have a rigorous evaluation.
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